
The best restaurants near South Bank and Waterloo
After a bracing stroll along the riverside, you’e going to need a feed. Luckily, the South Bank is loaded with options. From spicy Indian fare to banging...
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Your ultimate guide to all the cultural happenings and best things to do along this lively stretch of the river
London’s South Bank is a hub of culture. A two-mile procession of mainly state-funded arts and entertainment venues and events, it’s one of those rare places that is as popular with Londoners as with tourist visitors, and it's a great spot to experience being out and about in the capital again.
The area’s modern-day life began in 1951 with the Festival of Britain, which was staged to boost morale in the wake of WWII. Still testament to the project is The Royal Festival Hall, which has since expanded into the Southbank Centre and sits alongside BFI Southbank, the concrete ziggurat of the National Theatre, the London Eye, Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge, Shakespeare’s Globe and more.
As well as being a great place to soak up some London culture, the South Bank is great for a wander along the Thames, to check out a market or have a drink with views of the city skyline. There are plenty of eating options too – both restaurants and street food.
RECOMMENDED: Our London area guides.
After a bracing stroll along the riverside, you’e going to need a feed. Luckily, the South Bank is loaded with options. From spicy Indian fare to banging...
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As you’d expect, the food at this third branch of coffee-roasters-turned-fusion-fare hawkers Caravan is sound – with a broad, globally peripatetic...
The Mondrian’s flagship restaurant has an open kitchen on one side and riverside views on another. The menu name-checks many trends and diverse dish...
A serious interior sets the tone for cooking of considerable ambition and adventurousness at the National Theatre's restaurant. Though there are more...
You’ve heard of living in a box. How about dining in a box? Or, to be precise, eating in one of eight shipping containers. This pop-up Mexican restaurant...
Dandelyan’s menu is groundbreaking – ingredients include 'chalk bitters', 'crystal peach nectar’ and the archaic-sounding 'dandelion...
Have lunch or sip drinks in this rooftop allotment-cum-woodland-cum-wildflower meadow. At sunny lunchtimes, you'd be hard put to find a prettier setting for a...
A nice blend of contemporary style and retro chic (look out for nods to the 1951 Festival of Britain), Skylon makes terrific use of its cathedral ceilings...
A relaxed craft beer pub with riverside seating at the National Theatre.
Endless second-hand books, maps and old prints for sale on the South Bank.
Independent producers promising the best of the London food scene.
Discover Time Out original video